Stefano Centini

Stefano Centini
Born
Rome, Italy
Occupation
  • Film producer
Years active2005–present

Stefano Centini is an Italian-Taiwanese film producer based in Taiwan. He is the founder of production company Volos Films, focused on producing cross-continental co-productions between Asia and Europe.[1]

Life and education

Centini was born and raised in Rome, Italy. He obtained a postgraduate master's degree in Creative Producing at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Lombardy, a master's degree in Chinese Language and Culture from Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO) in Paris, and a Master's in Television and Film Production from the National Taiwan University of Arts.[2][3] In 2020, he was granted Taiwanese citizenship due to his contribution to the Taiwanese cinema.[4]

Career

Centini began his career as a documentary diector, working with broadcasters such as Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and AETN.[5] Amongst others, he directed the CCTV show Origins of Food which earned an Asian TV Award in 2015.[6] He subsequently started to produce feature documentaries with director Lau Kek-Huat. Their first collaboration, Absent Without Leave,[7] presented in the Wide Angle competition in Busan IFF and won the Audience Choice Award at the Singapore International Film Festival 2016.[8]

In 2018, Centini founded Volos Films, a Taiwan-based production company aimed at facilitating international co-productions between Europe and Asia.[2] Same year, he produced Ket Huat Lau's segment of Ten Years Taiwan that was presented at Taipei Film Festival.[9] Since then he has produced documentary features such as Divine Factory which had its world premiere at DOK Leipzig 2022[10] and Elvis Lu's A Holy Family which premiered at Visions du Réel Interntional Competition[11] and won four awards including Grand Prize and Audience Award at the Taipei Film Festival 2022.[12]

In 2022, Centini directed and produced Secrets of the Ocean Tribes for National Geographic, hosted by Julian Davison and indigenous artist Yosifu. The series focuses on the Autronesian migration and Taiwan's indigenous culture connection with the Pacific Islands.[13] It went on to win three 57th Golden Bell Awards and won the National award for Best Documentary at the Asian Academy Creative Awards.[14]

In Feb 2023, Centini co-produced Kenneth Dagatan's folk horror In My Mother's Skin which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival as part of the festival's "Midnight" section;[15] it was also the first co-production between Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan fully supported by government entities in these three countries.[16] Same month, he co-produced Zhi Wei Jow's first feature film Tomorrow Is a Long Time, a Singapore-Taiwanese-French-Portuguese co-production that premiered as part of the Generation 14plus selection of the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival.[17] Later in May 2023, he co-produced Felipe Gálvez Haberle first feature film The Settlers (2023 film) that premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival and was honoured with FIPRESCI Prize, becoming the first Chilean production to win that award.

In July 2023, he executive produced two films that premiered at the 76th Locarno Film Festival: Lav Diaz's Essential Truths of the Lake[1] which competed in main competition for the Golden Leopard,[18] and Eduardo Williams' The Human Surge 3 that had its North American premiere at Toronto International Film Festival.

In May 2024, his company Volos Film co-produced Minh Quý Trương's romantic drama Viet and Nam which had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Queer Palm. It made its North American premiere at the 49th Toronto International Film Festival in the Wavelengths programme.

In July 2024, Centini produced three films that premiered at the Venice Film Festival: Peter Kereke's documentary Wishing on a Star which had also its North American premiere at Toronto International Film Festival and Siew Hau Yeo's Stranger Eyes, an internationally co-produced mystery thriller film directed by Yeo Siew Hua starring Lee Kang-sheng and Wu Chien-ho, which was the first film from Singapore to compete for the Golden Lion. In this edition, he also presented the VR animated film Guardians of the Jade Mountain,[19] which was selected for the immersive competition section, and was his first foray into VR production.[20] In the same year, he also produced Pia Marais coming of age film Transamazonia which had its premiere at Locarno Film Festival and two films that premiered at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival; Petersen Vargas' drama Some Nights I Feel Like Walking[21] and Decher Roder's I, the Song.[22]

In May 2025, Centini produced Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis’ Heads or Tail?, presented in the Un Certain Regard section of the 78th Cannes Film Festival, as well as Lav Diaz’s Magellan, presented in the Cannes Premiere section.

He is currently serving in the committee board of the Taipei Film Festival in Taiwan.[23]

Filmography

As producer

References

  1. ^ a b Ramachandran, Naman (4 November 2024). "Taiwan Creative Content Fest: Volos Films Unveils Co-Production Slate as Country Goes Global". Variety.
  2. ^ a b Abbatescianni, Davide. "Stefano Centini • Producer, Volos Films - Industry Report: Produce - Co-Produce..." Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  3. ^ "陳璽文". Taiwan Docs. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 7 July 2025.
  4. ^ China (Taiwan), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of (29 April 2020). "ROC (Taiwan) citizenship granted to 5 foreign professionals". Taiwan Today.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "Stefano Centini | 台灣電影網 Taiwan Cinema". taiwancinema.bamid.gov.tw. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  6. ^ Society, Luxe (21 December 2015). "Talent and Glamour at the 2015 Asian Television Awards | Luxe Society". Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  7. ^ "Absent Without Leave". Taiwan Docs. 5 May 2017.
  8. ^ Frater, Patrick (5 December 2016). "SGIFF: 'Absence' Adds Audience Award at Singapore Festival Close". Variety. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  9. ^ Tsui, Clarence (13 July 2018). "'Ten Years Taiwan': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Divine Factory · DOK Leipzig". www.dok-leipzig.de.
  11. ^ Adams, Mark (2022-04-13). "Visions du Reel review: A Holy Family by Elvis A-Liang Lu". Business Doc Europe. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  12. ^ "A HOLY FAMILY《神人之家》". Taiwan Film Festival. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
  13. ^ "CIP launches Nat Geo's 'Secrets of the Ocean Tribes' TV series - Global Exchanges". New Southbound Policy. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  14. ^ "2022 NATIONAL WINNERS". Asian Academy Creative Awards.
  15. ^ Batislaong, Acer (9 December 2022). "'In My Mother's Skin' Is The Sole Filipino Feature Film At The 2023 Sundance Film Festival". nylonmanila.com. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  16. ^ Wong, Silvia. "First co-pro between Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan revealed (exclusive)". Screen. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  17. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (9 February 2023). "Leon Dai in Berlinale Selection 'Tomorrow is a Long Time': Watch First Trailer (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  18. ^ Hopewell, John (5 July 2023). "Films Boutique Swoops on Lav Diaz's 'Essential Truths of the Lake,' in Locarno Main Competition (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  19. ^ Barraclough, Leo (18 July 2024). "Venice Film Festival's XR Section to Feature 19 World Premieres, Seven International Premieres". Variety. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  20. ^ "THE GUARDIANS OF JADE MOUNTAIN". Innerspace VR. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  21. ^ Shackleton, Liz (25 May 2023). "'Some Nights I Feel Like Walking' First Look Revealed; Filipino Indie Feature Explores Manila's Disaffected Youth". Deadline. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  22. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (22 February 2025). "Dechen Roder's 'I, The Song' Sweeps Bhutan National Film Awards". Variety. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  23. ^ "President and Committee Board". 台北電影節 (in Chinese). Retrieved 16 July 2025.
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